Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program

The program, which is designed to help
deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals
receive child support services consists
of a "designated field office contact" in
each of the field offices and administrative
offices of the Child Support Division.
State and federal law mandate the use
of
interpreters. The field contact notifies
the nearest contracted deaf and hard-of-hearing
interpreting service and schedules an interpreter's
services, preferably two weeks before the
appointment date.

To better facilitate communication with deaf customers, there is a telephone relay system called Relay Texas. This service enables the deaf and hard-of-hearing to use the telephone to contact hearing persons. A deaf person placing a call types the message via a Telecommunication Device for the Deaf(TDD) to a customer agent at Relay Texas. The agent will voice-relay the message to the hearing person. When the hearing person responds, the agent types the message back to the deaf customer via the TDD.